


a gem of power

by thankyouturtle



Series: strangers on the road [3]
Category: The Song of the Lioness - Tamora Pierce, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 12:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thankyouturtle/pseuds/thankyouturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Alanna expects from Thayet jian Wilima is an unusual gemstone for sale. What she gets is a terrifying glimpse of the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a gem of power

Bone-tired after her long day at the palace, Alanna took one of the back entrances to the Dancing Dove. A fire had been lit in the rooms she shared with George, and Shadow, who had been riding on her shoulders, lightly leaped down and curled into a black ball beside the grate. He appeared to go to sleep almost immediately, and Alanna planned to follow his example. Her resolve wavered when she saw that a sealed envelope had been placed on her writing desk. Even from across the room she could recognise the thick, round handwriting as that of Coram Smythesson, who was currently tasked with managing the Trebond estates. By rights it ought to be Thom, not Alanna, receiving his letters, but with her twin brother not yet returned from the Great Southern Desert Alanna was easier to reach, and just as capable of making the decisions that Coram felt he should not make himself.

She stood, meaning to at least glance through the letter’s contents before she went to bed, and turned as the door from the main corridor quietly swung inwards. George entered, wearing that same smile he always had when she returned to him, be their parting weeks or only hours. She didn’t ask how he knew she’d arrived; he always did. Neither of them said anything until they’d kissed, George’s hands tugging playfully at Alanna’s coronet braid until she pulled away from him.

“How did it go?” He sat down at the desk, and drew her onto his knee. She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on her belly, and groaned.

“If I hadn’t sworn fealty I’d turn Jon into a- a pin cushion.”

“Still enjoyin’ yourself, then?” George’s dry tones startled a bark of laughter out of Alanna, but she quickly she turned serious.

“George, I have to ask Thom to come back to Corus. Jon won’t admit it, but there’s something wrong, up at the palace. I don’t know what – it’s just a feeling – but I’m sure I’m not imagining it.”

"There's no need to ask Thom," George told her. "I had word today that he's on his way back, maybe two day's ride out of the city."

"Jon apologised?" Alanna asked, surprised.

"Not to my knowledge. No, darlin', I wrote to the lad myself, a fortnight ago." When she lifted her head to look at him, she saw that the softness had gone out of his face. He thought that there was something wrong too, Alanna realised. He saw the question in her eyes before she asked it, and responded with a crooked smile.

“Just a feelin’, same as you. If it was anythin’ I could put my figure on – but it ain’t. I didn't say much to Thom, just enough to make him curious, if he was in the mood. I would've told you, but I wasn't sure he'd take the bait.” He shifted slightly, and slid an arm around Alanna’s waist, covering her hand with his, and filling her with warmth.

"Perhaps he's tired of getting sand in his boots." Alanna closed her eyes for a moment, comforted both in the knowledge that her brother would be with her again, and by George's closeness. "I ought to read that letter from Coram," she murmured, knowing she wasn't far from sleep.

“Coram can wait," George said. "There is somethin’ else though – business, if you can manage it tonight.”

“I can manage it,” Alanna said immediately. Tired as she was, George wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. "What am I needed for?" Then she frowned. “Why didn’t you ask me straight away?”

“Because Ma's been tellin' me I'm not to run you ragged at the moment," he gave her a quick, tight squeeze, "and because Thayet jian Wilima and her guard are eatin’ supper in their rooms.”

“She’s _here_?” There had been rumours that the Saren princess had crossed the border into Tortall, fleeing a bloody civil war in her own country, but Alanna was largely uninterested in politics and had not paid them much heed. “Of all the places-“

“She was sellin’ jewelry this mornin’ to Mistress Rabbin,” George said, naming a jeweler mage Alanna knew, and liked. “Whether Thayet was smart to pick her, or just lucky, I don’t know. Mistress Rabbin was happy to give her a good price on most of what she carried, but there was one gem her skills weren’t well enough to test properly – or so she said. She suggested Thayet come lookin’ for you. Mistress Rabbin didn’t know who she was,” he added, “but I did.”

Alanna frowned again. Mistress Rabbin knew her work well, and could surely deal with the sort of charmed gemstones Alanna would expect royalty – even royalty in exile – to carry. “Where’s she now?” Alanna asked, meaning Thayet.

"In the Piper's rooms." George named one of the large suites which could be used for private business as well as eating and sleeping. "I'll introduce you when you're ready for it."

"No - I'll go by myself."

Alanna took the time to change from the deep green dress she'd worn to the palace - practical, and not inexpensive - to something more suitable for a mage working at the Dancing Dove. She'd had enough of being Lady Alanna for one day, and if the Princess was not making herself known, there was no need for Alanna to either. Besides, she'd be comfortable in nothing but gowns soon enough.

She knocked politely on the outer door of the Piper's room, and was surprised when it was opened by a stocky girl not much taller than Alanna herself. Her fierce gaze, more than her hand on the hilt of the dagger thrust into her belt, told Alanna that this was the Princess's guard. Alanna opened her arms in the gesture that said she carried no weapons - her knives were well hidden, after all. "I am Mistress Cooper," she said. "I was told that your lady is in need of a gem mage."

"Let her in, Buri," came a deep, clear voice from inside the room. The girl - Buri - kept her eyes on Alanna, deep distrust written all over her face, and unwillingly stepped back to let Alanna into their sitting room.

Seated at the table, pouring water from a pitcher into a coloured glass, was the most beautiful woman Alanna had ever seen. For a moment she frankly stared at the woman, loveliness personified with her ivory skin, red lips and jet black hair; then she remembered herself, and bowed. "My lady," she said, still polite. "My apologies for the late hour; I'm afraid I was called away on other business."

"Not at all," Thayet said, automatically. "Mistress... Cooper, was it? Master George Cooper is your husband?"

"Yes, my lady," Alanna said, glancing down at the band on her finger. She had used the name so many times that it was sometimes difficult to remember that for the past six months it had truly been her own. "He told me you have a stone that Mistress Rabbin could not price."

"Or wouldn't," Buri murmured from her post by the door. Glancing over at her, Alanna thought she saw a troubled look underneath those scowling black brows.

"I am Komura Mahoun," said Thayet, clearly a well-practiced lie. "My maid, Buriram Chamtong. Buri, won't you bring the - gemstone?" She gestured for Alanna to sit in the seat opposite her own, and Alanna did so, wondering how many people could be fooled into thinking for a moment that Buri was an ordinary servant. Buri produced a well worn leather bag and emptied it unceremoneously on the table.

A single stone fell out. Thayet made no move to touch it, Alanna noticed, but when she glanced across at her the princess nodded, clearly signalling that Alanna could do so if she wished. Even as she reached out a hand to grasp it, Alanna's skin pricked. Oddness radiated from the jewel, a blue-violet gem the size of a silver noble piece. It should have been sparkling - the room was well lit - and yet it seemed to be absorbing light, not reflecting it.

Alanna held the jewel in her hand, and reached for her Gift to get a better look at it. She'd had a lot of practice at examining magical objects after the death of Duke Roger; she was the only mage Thom had fully trusted to help him destroy those that had clearly been made purely to do mischief. And yet now, this stone made no response to her. Scowling a little, Alanna reached for more of her Gift. This time she thought she saw something deep within the gem give a brief flicker.

With her free hand Alanna reached almost unconsciously for the stone around her own neck, and tried a third time to make Thayet's gem reveal itself to her. This time, it began to glow, not with the indigo of her Gift but with its own, blue-violet light. Unbidden, an image rose up before her.

_She saw the throne room at the palace; the tall man who sat on the ornate throne was not Prince Jonathan, but her own George. A thin band of gold settled uneasily in his dark curls, and on his face he wore a discontented expression that Alanna had never seen before. In one hand he held Thayet’s gem, the light that shone from the stone the only light in the long room. In the other, he held Jonathan's own sword._

_Alanna shook her head, trying to clear the vision. George disappeared, but she now saw Jon sitting in much the same attitude as George. But where George had seemed alone, Jon was joined by Alex of Tirragen, partially hidden by the tall back of the throne. As Alanna watched he moved forward slightly, laying one possessive hand on Jon’s shoulder; with the other he reached forward and plucked Thayet’s gem out of Jonathan’s grasp. Sir Alex smiled, and Alanna’s stomach clenched as she saw there was yet another figure behind the young knight. Duke Roger of Conté smiled at her, out of the shadows._

_The scene changed again. Jon still sat in the throne, Alex and Roger behind him, but now Thayet stood on the other side of the grand seat, and it was she who held the gem. Behind her was Buri in a crimson tunic. None of the men appeared to notice the two women, but they both looked directly at Alanna, Buri's experession fierce, Thayet's calm and sure._

Alanna dropped the stone onto the table and passed a hand over her eyes, relieved to find she was back where she ought to be. Thayet and Buri were both staring at her, Buri’s look curious, Thayet’s a little worried. “Are you unwell, Mistress Cooper?” the latter asked.

Alanna found her mouth was dry, and picked up the glass of water Thayet had filled earlier, draining it completely before she spoke. “I’m not sure what this jewel is,” she said, “but I’m unwilling to let you sell it to anyone.”

Buri’s eyebrows snapped together. “Let-" she began. Thayet held up a hand, and the girl stopped short, still bristling.

“I haven’t told you the entire truth, Mistress Cooper.” She hesitated, and looked at Buri, who crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I – we – have reason to believe... did you ever hear tales of the Dominion Jewel?”

Alanna’s lips pursed into a silent whistle. Stories of the legendary Dominion Jewel, which gave unimaginable powers to those who wielded it – to those who _could_ wield it – told to her by Coram, had enchanted her as a child. Given what she had just seen, she was willing to believe that somehow, it had come into Thayet's possession. "You seem surprisingly eager to rid yourself of it," she said. 

“It’s not my place to hold it,” Thayet replied, a barely perceptible tremor in her otherwise calm tones.

Alanna slid the Jewel back into its leather pouch, and pushed it across the table to Thayet. “If any of the legends hold true, it’s unlikely to have found its way to you by happenstance,” she said wryly. “It may be that the time will come that you will need to use it.”

“Let’s hope not,” Buri murmured.

Alanna glanced at the girl, and suddenly made up her own mind to tell the truth - some of it, at any rate. "Your own country is not the only one in turmoil, your Highness. My husband has a talent for recognising people," she said, seeing Thayet start.

"And you're not without talents either, are you?" Thayet replied. "In my father's court I heard tales of a high born sorceress with purple eyes - but her hair was red."

"So is mine, sometimes," Alanna said mischievously, and was rewarded with a twist to Thayet's mouth which suggested a smile.  _I like her_ , Alanna realised, and was surprised. Perhaps it was because she knew what it was like to give up everything she had - and to turn down the power that was offered to her - but she found herself warming to this serious, controlled woman.

"Are you hiding?" Buri asked abruptly. Alanna shook her head.

"My friends and family know where to find me. I needed quiet, for a while." Not that she'd been getting it. "I expect you would both like quiet, too. You'll have it, and anything else you need, as long as you stay at the Dancing Dove."

Thayet stood; Alanna did, too. "Thank you, Mistress Cooper," the princess said. "It would be nice to stay somewhere comfortable for a while."

"It always is, when you've been sleeping on the ground for weeks." Alanna spoke from experience, and again there was that hint of a smile from Thayet. "You'll be well looked after here, Mistress Mahoun, Mistress Chamtong." She bowed, bade them both good night, and made her exit. She wasn't five paces down the passageway when she heard the door opening behind her. Buri's face peered out.

"It's Buriram Tourakom," she hissed. "You might as well know, since you know about everything else." Her head disappeared and the door closed again.

Alone, Alanna smiled to herself. _I used to hate lying, too,_ she thought. Her fingers closed around the gem at her throat as she slowly walked back to her own rooms.

**Author's Note:**

> The description of the Dominion Jewel is lifted from _Lioness Rampant_.


End file.
